Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra said the visitors should stick with Prasidh Krishna for the second Test match against England, irrespective of Jasprit Bumrah’s availability. Krishna could not hit the right areas in the opening Test as he bowled short and could not provide support to Jasprit Bumrah.
Krishna returned with figures of 3-128 in the first innings in 20 overs he bowled, conceding his runs at an economy rate of 6.40. In the second innings, Krishna took two wickets but once again gave away 92 runs in 15 overs he bowled, conceding his runs at 6.10.
Meanwhile, in the press conference, Krishna admitted his mistakes and acknowledged that he didn’t bowl well as he was short in his length.
“All things get sorted out if Bumrah is there. Then I won’t change the fast bowling. Siraj was quite unlucky. The guy works hard and bowls very well. He tries his best. I will give Mohammed Siraj 10 out of 10 for trying. He runs in hard, gives it all, but is sometimes unlucky,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Prasidh Krishna was struggling to find the right lengths in the first innings. He said that he found difficulties with the slope in the second innings, but he should own up as a professional cricketer because he should have adjusted. He was not blaming anyone. There were no excuses. I would like to stick with Prasidh Krishna,” he added.
The renowned commentator added that Akash Deep is ahead of Arshdeep Singh in the pecking order as the former was part of the Border-Gavaskar series and has already made his debut.
“If Bumrah is not there, it starts a chain of thoughts as to what you would do. You have two options in the form of Akash Deep and Arshdeep. There will be a temptation to play Arshdeep because you get a left-arm option. Akash Deep is ahead of Arshdeep in the pecking order because he was a part of the BGT (Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25) and has already made his debut,” he said.
The former Delhi cricketer added that he would back Arshdeep Singh ahead of Akash Deep.
“Logically, you will want to pick him (Deep) first. I will actually pick Arshdeep Singh. I am going slightly left-field because I am just thinking about how wickets can be taken. The answer probably lies in Arshdeep Singh. So I will go towards Arsh, although, whoever you play, I don’t think it would make a huge difference,” Chopra reasoned.
The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.
